PRINCE Prince Rogers Nelson Born the seventh of

PRINCE

Prince Rogers Nelson Born the seventh of June in the year of 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. • • • He only had one sister, Tika Evene, who also had a very keen interest in music. • • His father, Prince Rogers, was also a musician. Wrote his first song, "Funk Machine" when he was seven years old. About three years later, his parents had separated, and Prince had constantly switched homes since. • Prince was born epileptic and frequently had seizures.

Growing Up… • Prince's influences were: – Jimi Hendrix – Earth, Wind & Fire, – James Brown, – Carlos Santana, – Miles Davis • In high school, he played basketball. • He started his first band with his cousin, Charles Smith called Grand Central. • Smith was later replaced by Morris Day. • He recorded some guitar parts for a band called 94 East in 1975. • A year later, Prince recorded a demo tape with producer Chris Moon which led to a management contract when he was seventeen. • Prince’s first album "For You" was released on April 7, 1978.

Purple Rain • Prince formed a band that he referred to as the Revolution. He wrote an outstanding album called "Purple Rain" which is also the name of his movie. • • Prince was the first person to have a number one album, single, and film in the U. S.

Legal Issues • On September 14, 2007, Prince announced that he was going to sue e. Bay and You. Tube. • • He had a strong opinion about copyrights, especially when it came to music. He changed his name to a symbol, which lead people to call him "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince". • Prince shortly took back his old stage name.

Love Interests • Prince was romantically involved with celebrities such as: – – – • • Kim Basinger Vanity Sheila E. Carmen Electra Married Mayte Garcia. (Divorced 1999) Prince has been with singer, Bria Valente, ever since. His son, Boy Gregory, was born on October 16, 1996. He played for the 2007 Super Bowl.

Composition History “I Wanna Be Your Lover” • In 1979, Prince had written the hit song “I Wanna Be Your Lover. ” It was one of Prince's first ever hits. • It came out on August 24, 1979. • • Prince actually wrote and produced this song himself. • http: //vimeo. com/72876956

“Controversy” • • • Written and recorded in 1981. Published on September 2, 1981. "Controversy" and "Dear Mr. Man" are two songs that have political messages written in. • http: //www. 80 svideos. tv/play. php? vid=163

• “Purple Rain” Written in 1984, when Prince started to really make it big. • • • Published by Warner Bros. Released on September 26, 1984. It has been played on nearly every tour since 1984. The song shares the name of Prince's major film. Stevie Nicks, was asked by Prince to write the lyrics to "Purple Rain". • http: //www. veoh. com/watch/v 106505789 Dg 9 X 55 X

Listening Guide “I Wanna Be Your Lover” (2: 58) The melody has a fun, happy sound to it. The rhythm is very consistent. It has a disco feel to it. The quality of the sound is very clear and clean. 1979

“Controversy” (3: 39) The melody is very low, but upbeat. It has a lot of synthesized noises coming from the keyboard and drums. The quality is very clear, but you can tell it was made in the 80 s. The pitches of the guitar and the keyboard harmonize well together.

1984 “Purple Rain” (8: 41) The melody starts out with a very smooth, crisp guitar strumming by itself. The timbre is very, very good and clear. The rhythm is a lot slower than the two other songs. The form is absolutely balanced through this whole beginning. It's such an intense song, but it's really mellow.

References and Bibliography • "All. Music. " All. Music. N. p. , n. d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. • "Prince. " Amazon. com: : Songs, Albums, Pictures, Bios. N. p. , n. d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. • "Prince Biography. " Bio. com. A&E Networks Television, n. d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. • "Prince. " IMDb. com, n. d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.